Russia-China ties deepen as Beijing buys a record amount of oil from the warring nation in the first half of 2023

• China imported 2.13 million barrels per day of Russian crude in the first half of 2023.
• Russia so far this year has been the top oil supplier to China, peaking at 2.57 million barrels a day in June. 
• Chinese customs data implies that Russian imports have been cheaper than crude from other OPEC+ countries, per the FT.

China imported a record amount of Russian crude oil in the first half of 2023, snapping up more than two million barrels per day from the warring nation.